Event Description

“Aging and Post-reproductive Life in a Traditional World: Behavior, Physiology and Theory” by Hillard Kaplan

Thursday, January 24, 2013 7:30 p.m. Hibben 105 Free and Open to AllField research in lowland Bolivia with Tsimane Native South Americans is contributing vital information on the evolution of human life course history.

Hillard Kaplan, Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, will discuss what has been learned about the aging process among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists and the implications for understanding human life history evolution.

Kaplan, who currently directs the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, began his research in 2002. He will review his latest findings on behavior, inter-generational transfers, physical function, immunocompetence and cardiovascular disease. Tsimane men and women continue to provide food for their children and grandchildren until about age 70, the modal age at death for traditional populations. Men and women adjust their time use as they age, adapting to physical decline. Cardiovascular disease is rare, and heart function remains preserved into the eighth decade of life. Immunosenescence, along with functional declines, appear to be the major driver in the increasing risk of mortality with age. The lecture will conclude with a discussion of the theory of human lifespan evolution, and important new directions for research.

Hillard Kaplan received his PhD from the University of Utah. His recent research and publications examine the evolution of human life course, focusing on integration of history theory in biology and human capital theory in economics, with specific emphases on fertility, parental investment and aging in developed, developing and traditional settings. He has also conducted fieldwork with native South Americans and Southern Africans.